


Tried and True

by SmileAndASong



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Marvel, Marvel 3490, Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Ultimates
Genre: Crossover, Dimension Travel, Fluff, Getting Together, Graduation, Happy Ending, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Multiverse, Multiverse Shenanigans, Mutual Pining, Relationship Advice, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 05:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18844438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmileAndASong/pseuds/SmileAndASong
Summary: After three years of fun, Avengers Academy is coming to an unexpected end, and Tony still can’t seem to tell Steve how he feels about him. Time is running out, and he desperately needs some advice. And who better to get it from than himself? Literally!Turning to the multiverse for help, he meets another, sadder version of Tony Stark who not only tells him what he needs to hear, but also informs him of an interesting, interdimensional theory: Are Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, in their infinite iterations, fated to each other in every universe?





	Tried and True

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zappedbysnow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zappedbysnow/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Next Step](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18848044) by [zappedbysnow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zappedbysnow/pseuds/zappedbysnow). 



> At long last, here it is, my story for the Cap-IM Reverse Big Bang 2019! Man, this fic was a lot of firsts for me -- first time participating in RBB, first time writing a fic over 10k, and first time writing a massive Steve/Tony multiverse fic, which is something I've wanted to do for ages! 
> 
> I was so lucky to work with zappedbysnow, an artist that I've admired in the fandom for quite some time now. I had the honor of writing for her in the Holiday Exchange last year, and coincidentally, one of her requested HE prompts was actually a giant multiverse one! So in a way, I was actually able to fulfill that for her as well! 
> 
> This fic takes place at the very end of the Avengers Academy game, during the unexpected "graduation" and closure of the school due to the fear of the universe collapsing should it continue to exist. I took some creative liberties with Avengers Academy canon, but I may have gotten a few things wrong since I admittedly stopped playing the game about a year ago. I could only find so much on YouTube. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.
> 
> There are a LOT of other SteveTony canons featured in the fic, and I throw around a ton of universe numbers, so here's a quick list of them all to refer back to, should you need it:  
> \- **Earth-616** (Main comics canon. Set during the start of Avengers Vol. 4, aka, the Heroic Age, so there’s plenty of residual Civil War angst here!)  
> \- **Earth-1610** (Ultimates. Set during the Reconstruction storyline in Ultimates Comics: The Ultimates, so after the states seceding debacle, and Steve is everyone’s favorite President!)  
> \- **Earth-199999** (MCU. Set after Captain America: Civil War film. Tony’s all alone, Steve’s in Wakanda, and what I do with them is not necessarily IW/Endgame compliant.)  
> \- **Earth-3490** (Civil Union verse, aka, the one where Tony is a woman and married Steve Rogers. Set a few years after their wedding.)  
> \- **Earth-12041** (Avengers Assemble cartoon. Set around the end of season 2.)  
> \- **Earth-20051** (Marvel Adventures: Avengers. They're mentioned more than they are featured in the fic, so they're not set in any specific moment of their canon.)
> 
> Huge thank you to my amazingly patient beta, brokeneisenglas, who went above and beyond in helping me make this fic absolutely perfect. Thank you also to sundaecherries for helping me with the summary when my brain decided that words were just impossible.
> 
> This fic is also available in [Vietnamese](https://www.wattpad.com/757641560-couples-trong-avengers-tried-and-true-1) thanks to Stony1111.

“Steve, you can’t seriously think that the Charleston is the pinnacle of dancing. There’s a good reason nobody’s done it in decades.”

“That’s because none of you do it as well as me. You’re all too busy doing that silly ‘brushing’ thing.”

“Flossing, it’s called flossing.”

“Yeah, that too.”

Tony laughed and shook his head as the jovial conversation came to a sudden halt once they arrived at Steve’s dorm room.

Steve stopped first; he looked at Tony and cleared his throat, looking like he was waiting for Tony to do something, to say something.

Tony blushed and immediately darted his eyes away from Steve’s buoyant, expectant gaze. “You know there’s a paint chip on your door? Right there.” He pointed at the spot in question. “And that handle is rusty, sheesh! You’d think that Fury would have some better maintenance for Captain America’s dorm room.”

“It’s only mine for another two days, so no point in putting in a complaint,” Steve said, smiling a somewhat stiff smile. “I had a lot of fun dancing with you at Club A tonight. Maybe we can find time to do it again at tomorrow’s graduation party?”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” Tony agreed, bouncing on his heels. “So I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Absolutely!” Steve said. He was smiling, waiting. Waiting on Tony. “Thanks for walking me home. ”

“Goodnight, Steve.”

Tony inhaled deeply. This was it.

He shut his eyes and leaned in, more than ready for their lips to _finally_ meet for the first time. But just as he was about to make his landing, Tony’s eyes shot wide open and he hastily veered to the right and swat at Steve’s shoulder.

“Woah! You shoulda seen the size of that ant!” Tony exclaimed. “At least, I think it was an ant. I mean, it coulda been Scott. Or Hope. Or Doctor Pym. Man, there are _way_ too many shrinking guys around! Who knew the insect superhero market would be so competitive?” He joked, forcing a chuckle that came out as uncomfortable as he felt.

Steve stared at his shoulder for a brief moment before letting out a weak laugh of his own. “Yeah, well, let’s hope it wasn’t one of them.” He shuffled away from Tony, grabbing a hold of the handle. “But uh, thanks for getting it...whatever it was.”

He looked disappointed, and really, Tony couldn’t blame him. He had every right to be. Still, he managed one last smile for Tony, albeit clearly forced one. “Goodnight, Tony.” He turned on his heel and slipped into his dorm, the door shutting behind him with a tight click.

Tony didn’t leave right away; he lingered in the doorway and closed his eyes, hoping that by some miracle, he’d wake up in his bed and in a world where he had actually kissed Steve instead of rambling on about friggin’ ants and ant-related superheroes.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again and saw the same door riddled with paint cracks and that rusty gold handle.

Dammit.

Groaning, he staggered off to go do what he always went did whenever he royally screwed things up with Steve -- whine and complain about it to Janet Van Dyne.

 

XXXXX

“Ants are completely ruining my life, Jan!” Tony exclaimed as he threw her door open, not bothering to knock (he never did).

Jan yelped at the sudden intrusion, dropping an armful of neatly folded sweaters. “Tony! Do you have any idea what time it is? You _know_ I hate it when you just barge in uninvited! Ugh, it makes me so mad.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “You don’t...look mad?”

Jan huffed and pointed at her unusually Hulk-like complexion. “It’s my nightly mask, if I move my face around too much, it’ll crack. And I’m not letting you mess up my skin routine, mister!” She knelt down and collected the fallen clothes, placing them in one of many neatly-packed suitcases that encompassed the majority of her now quite empty dorm room. “Now what’s this about...ants, was it? No, wait, let me guess -- you told Steve he had an ant on his shoulder instead of kissing him, didn’t you?”

How did Jan always know everything?

“I panicked!” Tony complained, throwing himself onto Jan’s bed and burying his face in the pillows. He continued to speak, but it all came out as incoherent, whiney mutterings.

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but I’m just going to assume it’s more excuses.” Jan sat down beside him on the bed, attempting to pacify his dramatics by rubbing small circles into his back. “You only have two days left at the Academy, and if you graduate without planting one on Steve Rogers after the three years I’ve endured of your whining and swooning over him, I _swear_ I’ll--”

Tony lifted his face out of the pillow and pouted. “I am trying! I’ve been trying for three years! I thought I had more time, but then Fury had to go and shut down the Academy unexpectedly and--”

“-- Tony, the universe may collapse if the Academy stays open any longer. I guarantee you that he didn’t shut it down just to inconvenience you,” Jan reminded him.

“Well my universe _is_ collapsing because it’s closing!” Tony whined. “And I don’t know what to do with what little time I have left here…”

“Maybe you should just say how you feel about him? Crazy concept, I know.”

“...And how do I feel about him?”

“Are you _really_ asking me to tell you how you feel about Steve?”

“No, but it might help if you put it into words for me.”

Jan rolled her eyes. “Come on, Tony, I can’t do that. The only person who knows that is you.”

Tony abruptly sat upright and grabbed ahold of Jan’s shoulders. “What did you just say?”

“The only person who knows that is you?” Jan repeated, a bewildered look on her face, but not one expressive enough to threaten the uniformity of her face mask.

“Oh, yes, that’s perfect!” Tony exclaimed, bringing Jan in for a tight embrace. “Janet Van Dyne, you are a genius!”

“Well, yes, no need to state the obvious,” Jan mumbled, awkwardly returning Tony’s hug. “I’m just struggling to understand my genius in this particular instance.”

“It’s just like you said -- the only person who knows that is me, so who better to turn to for advice than the Tony Starks of the multiverse? I’m sure at least one of them has nailed their respective Steve Rogers!”

“That is _not_ what I meant!” Jan rubbed frustratedly at her temple, gasping when some of the goo transferred to her fingertips. “And you totally made me ruin my mask!”

“I’ll buy you a year’s supply of avocado green tea honey masks tomorrow. For now, I’ve got some traveling to do.” Tony leaned in and kissed Jan’s cheek; the mask was already ruined, so he figured it’d be alright. He licked his lips as he pulled back. “Oh, and there’s lemon in there too, nice! Thanks for the talk, Jan, I’ll see you at graduation tomorrow!”

Hugging her one last time, Tony bolted out the door, just barely able to hear the rest of Jan’s now fully expressive yells.

If he had to bet on it, it was likely something along the lines of how he “couldn’t just galavant off into the multiverse and other realities whenever this one became inconvenient”. She had a point, sure, but she also didn’t have less than twenty-four hours to win Steve Rogers over and see to it that three years of pathetic pining weren’t for nothing -- desperate times called for desperate measures!

 

XXXXX

After inputting the access code and disabling the security cameras, Tony cautiously made his way into Doctor Pym’s lab. He unlocked the highest cabinet and pulled out what he needed to traverse the multiverse -- the portal generator.

Now interdimensional travel was hardly a foreign concept at Avengers Academy. A significant portion of the student body came from other dimensions and universes, there were countless portals all around the campus, and interdimensional intruders showed up almost every other week to try and take over the Academy, thanks to the Timefog being...well, the Timefog.

But still, it was limited to singular, isolated portals that could only go to one specific reality. Or at least, it was, until Tony and Doctor Pym decided, about a month ago, that they wanted to challenge that limitation -- as well as have a safe out if that whole “universe imploding” thing actually proved to be true.

Together, using energy that they harnessed from the Timefog and some pretty badass science, they created the multiverse portal generator. It was a small, handheld device that could instantaneously create a portal to any reality in the multiverse should the right coordinates be input, making interdimensional travel easy as pie.

Technically, Doctor Pym had forbidden Tony from using it on his own until he had done a proper test. But what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

With the generator in hand, Tony moved over to Doctor Pym’s disaster of a desk. He sifted through its contents until he found a jumbled piece of paper with a slew of numbers on it, each one corresponding to a different reality that Tony -- and partially Doctor Pym -- had discovered in their research.

There was no additional information about the respective universes -- they hadn’t gotten that far yet -- so Tony figured he’d just pick one at random and hope for the best.

Earth-616 was the first one on the list and seemed as good a place as any to start. With any luck, it would be a normal reality and not one where everyone was a flesh-eating zombie or crazy tentacle monster.

The multiverse was a _weird_ place.

He punched the coordinates into the generator and instantly, a bright blue circle appeared to -- hopefully -- transport him to his desired destination.

Like with all portals, he couldn’t see what was on the other side; it was completely opaque. He stuck his hand in first, and when it didn’t automatically catch on fire or detach itself from his body, he deemed it safe and walked all the way through.

At first, all Tony saw was blue, but that was soon replaced with a very familiar hallway, overlooking a very familiar city, and a very familiar decor all throughout that made him feel right at home.

Tony recognized his surroundings right away -- he was in Stark Tower! That is, the Earth-616 version of it. Judging by the size of the hallways and how high his vantage point of the city was, this building was bigger than his own tower. Either this other version of him was severely overcompensating for something, or he was a more successful Tony Stark. Naturally, Tony and his own ego were more inclined to believe the former.

He wandered aimlessly down the hall, his attention perking up at the sound of lively chatter coming from the other side of a set of double doors at the end of it.

That sounded promising.

He reached for the doorknob and started to turn it, but froze when a massive hand came down on his shoulder and roughly pulled him back.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?”

Now that was a voice he’d know anywhere.

Slowly, Tony turned and saw a big white star sprawled across a solid chest. His eyes followed the muscular build upward until he met the austere stare of Earth-616’s Steve Rogers, who looked _very_ angry and like he _very_ much wanted to kick his ass.

Well, this wasn’t off to a good start.

They made eye contact and, for a split second, the other Steve’s azure eyes softened as they met Tony’s. As nice and inviting as the warm, loving gaze of a Steve Rogers was, Tony had a feeling that this wasn’t a sentiment that had been intended for him.

Other Steve was quick to catch his misplaced emotions; blinking, he hardened his expression and grabbed a tight hold of Tony’s wrist. “Come on, before someone sees you.”

“Skipping introductions, I see. You always this much of a charmer, Cap?” Tony tried to joke, but the other Cap didn’t utter a word or even look his way until they got to their destination.

He brought Tony to a small room on the opposite side of the hall with nothing of note in it, save for a small table and chairs, and a lot of unlabeled, tightly packed boxes. It seemed like it was in the midst of a transition, and Tony couldn’t tell if the inhabitants of it were coming into the space or leaving it.

“Stay,” The other Cap -- the Angry Cap -- ordered Tony as if he were a wayward mutt who couldn’t be trusted alone. “Don’t touch anything and don’t try anything funny.”

“Where are you-” Tony was cut off by the forceful slamming of the door.

God, was everyone in this reality gonna be a huge jerk? What the hell could have happened to make him such a grouch?

Tony wasn’t on his own for long; not even two minutes later, the door opened and Angry Cap walked right back in with someone very familiar sauntering in behind him.

And there was only one person in the multiverse with facial hair that meticulously groomed.

“Tony Stark...” Tony breathed out, eyes rapidly scanning him over and taking in every single detail.

The other Tony -- as well as the other Steve -- was older than him, in his mid-30s or so. He was decently tall with a good physique, a nice haircut, and he had the most striking bright blue eyes. His eyes, while beautiful, were unfortunately weighed down by dark circles underneath them. They looked so tired -- _he_ looked tired -- but it didn’t seem like the kind of tired that could be resolved with a good night’s rest alone.

It was like his eyes were just tired of being open altogether.

Tired Tony took a step closer to Tony and circled around him, taking his own turn to scrutinize before speaking. “Well, this is unexpected.”

“Unexpected? You mean he’s not here because of you?” Angry Cap asked, his voice sharp and accusatory.

“No, for once this wasn’t my doing,” Tired Tony admitted.

“Who is he?”

“I don’t know, Steve, I’m as confused as you are.”

“He looks like you. Is he a skrull?”

“Obviously he’s not a skrull, look at him. He’s about fifteen years younger than me and five inches shorter. That has to be the worst skrull ever.”

“Is he from another reality?”

“A likely possibility, but we can’t be sure.”

“Well, then what is he!?”

“You know,” Tony interrupted. “ _He_ can talk and _he_ is perfectly capable of explaining how and why he’s here.” Angry Cap crossed his arms, and Tired Tony looked at him curiously. “I’m from another universe. Earth-TRN562, to be specific. I built a multiverse portal generator for fun, and I wanted to see if it worked. Turns out it does, so woohoo to that.”

“And why are you here?” Angry Cap asked.

“Didn’t you hear me? I just wanted to see if it worked so I could meet other versions of myself. Is that so hard to believe?” Tony said, opting to leave out the more sentimental reason for his travels. If the way Angry Cap was talking to Tired Tony was any indicator, it didn’t seem like he’d be very sympathetic toward Tony’s pining for his own Steve.

Angry Cap narrowed his eyes at Tony. “Listen here, son.”

Son? God, it was like he was _trying_ to be an insufferable prick.

“The multiverse is serious; it’s not a toy, and it’s not something for you to go joy-riding in. Stop meddling and get back home to your own reality before you do something stupid or dangerous -- or both.” Angry Cap turned to Tired Tony. “And you’re going to see to it that he does.”

“Why is this my responsibility?” Tired Tony said. “Isn’t Richards the resident expert on interdimensional travels?”

“He’s you, Tony, and he came here looking for you specifically. I think that’s grounds for you helping him out,” Angry Cap sighed, pinching his brow. “Just see to it that he gets home, alright?” He shot a cold glare at Tony. “And promptly.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll take care of it,” Tired Tony agreed glumly.

Angry Cap nodded stiffly and took a slightly clumsy step closer to Tired Tony. He pursed his lips together and leaned in like he was going for a kiss. But then, at the last second, he stopped and put a hand on other Tony’s shoulder instead, squeezing it awkwardly.

Well, at least he didn’t talk about ants.

“Thank you.” Angry Cap said softly, his hand lingering on Tired Tony’s shoulder, and he looked at him with a gaze that was reminiscent of the way he had stared at Tony back in the hall. Taking his hand back, he turned and exited the room.

“Impressive that he can walk with that giant stick up his ass,” Tony grumbled, once he was certain that Angry Cap was out of earshot. “Is he always this much of a delight?”

Tired Tony shrugged. “Nowadays, that’s what you might call a decent mood for him.” He moved toward the table, leaning against it. “So, now that he’s gone, are you going to tell me why you’re really here?”

“I told you, I wanted to meet other versions of myself,” Tony insisted, joining his counterpart at the table.

Tired Tony shook his head, a barely-there smirk creeping on his face. “Nice try, kid, but if anyone can tell when Tony Stark is lying, it’s Tony Stark. Now spill.”

“I wanted some advice.”

“Advice? What could you possibly need advice on that warranted a trip to another reality?”

“...it’s about Steve.”

“Oh,” Tired Tony said, not sounding terribly surprised, but not particularly elated either. “Let me guess: you love him, don’t you?”

Tony bit down on his lower lip and nodded. “Yeah...I have for almost three years now. I just don’t know how to tell him, and with graduation tomorrow, I’m worried that he’ll be out of my life for good before I get the chance.” He shuffled a little closer to Tired Tony. “So I need some advice...and who better to get advice from than, well, me?”

“Now who can argue with sound logic like that?” Tired Tony shifted, widening the gap that Tony had just closed. He inhaled deeply and ran a hand through his dark hair, gripping a fistful of it tightly. “I just don’t know if I’m the Tony Stark that you should be consulting for Steve Rogers related love advice.”

“Why? Do you not love yours? I can’t say I blame you, the guy seems like a total as--”

“--it’s not that,” Tired Tony interrupted. “We just have a bit of an unfortunate history that’s made things complicated, to say the least.”

“What did you do?” Tony asked, bluntly.

“...let’s just say that I did and said some things that I wish I hadn’t. And I can’t even remember the entirety of it all,” Tired Tony admitted, his voice strained and his eyes now not just tired, but darker and more somber.

There’s clearly a story here, and despite the dozens of questions circulating in Tony’s mind about it, he couldn’t bring himself to ask any of them. The older version of him had clearly been through enough hardship. Not only that, but Tony didn’t think he could stomach the burden of knowing just what made his counterpart’s eyes so tired, so defeated.

Sometimes, it was better to not know. Ignorance is bliss and all that.

Still, there was one question that Tony just had to know the answer to, the whole reason that he wanted to meet this other Tony Stark in the first place.

“You did love him at one point though, right?” He asked in a small voice, almost scared to hear the answer now.

Tired Tony nodded; a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, but never actualized. “I did, yes. I loved him -- I still love him -- with all of my heart. He’s my very best friend, my home. And to think that I almost lost him for good because of...” His voice trailed off and his jaw tightened. He looked remorseful, both for whatever it was that he had done to his Steve and for oversharing his inner demons with Tony. He cleared his throat and sat more upright, collecting himself. “So yeah, I know what you’re going through. Hell, I think every Tony Stark in the multiverse does.”

“What do you mean by that?” Tony asked.

“I know you said that you made this interdimensional portal generator, but have you visited any other realities yet?” Tired Tony inquired.

Tony shook his head.

“Have you studied any theories on universal constants?”

Again, Tony shook his head.

“Well, I have this theory,” Tired Tony said. “Richards came up with it, actually, but don’t go telling people about that.”

“Considering I have no idea who that is, that’ll be easy,” Tony said dryly.

Tired Tony smirked. “Wow, a reality where I exist and Reed Richards doesn’t. Can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him that!”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s a big prick and we hate him. Anyway, the theory?” Tony asked, looking at his counterpart, with wide, eager eyes.

“Right, sorry,” Tired Tony apologized. “So there are some things that are just destined to happen in every single universe -- certain events, the birth of certain people, the formation of particular relationships, you get the picture. They can manifest in different forms, especially in the case of relationships.” He gestured in between him and Tony. “Especially in the case of our relationship with one individual.”

“Steve…” Tony breathed out, his chest tightening.

Tired Tony nodded. “Exactly. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are, based on what I have researched, destined to have a very powerful relationship should they coexist in the same universe,” He explained. “That power can manifest in the form of love, it can manifest in the form of hate, and their relationship can impact not only them, but, in some instances, other people and their reality as a whole.”

Tony groaned, pinching at his temples. “To think, I came here just for some dating advice, and now I’m learning that my relationship with Steve is what, some greater power with the potential to destroy worlds?”

“It’s just a theory,” Tired Tony tried to reassure, but he didn’t exactly deny Tony’s ‘world destroying’ concern. Great.

“Whether or not you believe in it, it can still offer you some guidance,” Tired Tony continued, his voice softening considerably. “Just remember that you and your Steve are in control of your relationship and how it forms. Make sure it’s one based in love, Tony. Be honest with him, be open with him, and whatever you do…” He paused, his lips quivering and struggling to form the words. “...don’t lie to him. Don’t hurt him.”

He sounded like he was speaking from experience. He sounded like he was speaking from _bad_ experience.

Tony’s stomach twisted into a tight knot and he nodded. “I can do that,” He agreed, and it wasn’t only to Tired Tony he was making that promise to. “And you know, you can too.”

Tired Tony laughed, one forced and devoid of any joy or liveliness, like the idea of him _not_ lying to his Steve was something of a bad joke. “Easier said than done.”

“Actually, it’s just like you said -- it’s up to you and your Steve. And if you’re not through loving him, then I doubt he is either,” Tony encouraged. “No, I /know/ he’s not through loving you. I saw the way he looked at you -- he almost kissed you! You just gotta keep working on it!”

“We’re working on it, believe me,” Tired Tony explained, rubbing at the back of his neck.  
“But...maybe I could work a little harder. Practice what I preach and all that.”

“There’s the spirit,” Tony said, smiling as he leaned in and hugged his other self. “Thanks for the talk. This was just what I needed to hear.”

“Yeah, sure, anytime,” Tired Tony hugged him back, holding Tony almost too tightly in his arms, like he had never been shown compassion in his life, or at least, not in some time. Poor thing.

The thought made Tony frown, and he squeezed him just a bit tighter. He didn’t let go until Tired Tony did so first, wanting to be sure that his other self had the closeness for as long as he needed it.

The embrace lasted for about a minute or two before Tired Tony pulled back, looking at Tony as he spoke. “Make sure you drop in again soon. I want an update on how things go with you and him.” Tired Tony requested, eyes sparkling with the tiniest bit of joy. It was difficult to see through the haze of melancholy, but it was there, and hopefully, it would remain.

“Of course! And then I can get one about you and your Steve, too,” Tony said, phrasing it as a surefire fact rather than a possibility.

Tired Tony bit down on his lower lip, looking skeptical but still, he nodded in agreement.

Tony punched in the coordinates for his own universe into the generator, the portal appearing promptly. He glanced back at his counterpart one last time before stepping in, smiling a thankful smile. “Until next time, Tony.”

“Until next time, Tony,” Tired Tony repeated, finally smiling himself as his counterpart disappeared into the blue aura.

 

XXXXX

“There you are!”

A voice from behind Tony said as he stepped out of the portal. He glanced over his shoulder to see a disgruntled looking Jan, clad in her cap and gown, and tapping her foot impatiently. “Commencement starts in ten minutes! Only you could have a time-traveling device and still be late, I swear.”

“Interdimensional portal generator, Jan! Very different than time travel,” Tony corrected and he looked up at the bright morning sky in confusion. “It’s morning already?”

Apparently, time traveled faster when you were hanging out with yourself in other dimensions. Who knew?

“Yes, and spending all night traversing the multiverse doesn’t mean you get to skip out on the ceremony!” Jan grabbed Tony’s wrist and started walking off with urgency.

“We sit there, listen to some lame speeches, and then get a meaningless document from Fury -- how hard can it be?” Tony froze, his eyes going wide. “Oh my god, _Steve_ is going to be there!”

Jan rolled her eyes and yanked Tony’s arm. “Yes, and the sooner we get there, the sooner you can see him. Now come on!”

Once they got to the Quad and the haphazardly thrown together stage -- unintentionally appropriate for the haphazard ending of the Academy -- Pepper shoved a cap and robe in Tony’s hands and pointed him in the direction of his assigned seat.

It was right at the front, and on the complete opposite side of where Steve was seated, sadly, but that didn’t stop Tony from gawking at him for the entirety of the ceremony.

Tony saw it all -- Steve’s perpetual nervous fussing with his tassel, his supportive laughter at the bad jokes that the orators tried to liven up their speeches with, and the small tears that welled up in his eyes during particularly poignant parts.

Through Steve’s eyes and responses, the ceremony was absolutely beautiful and heartfelt--

“And now, the Academy’s very first student, Tony Stark, will take the stage for some parting and reflective words.”

\--Or at least, it _was_ , until Fury had to go and ruin it by saying a downright disturbing sentence that finally broke his attention off of Steve and nearly made him fall out of his seat.

Tony Stark was going to do _what_?

He was about to devise a clever plan to get the hell out of here, but then, from across the entire crowd, he noticed an angry-looking Pepper Potts glaring daggers at him from her seat on the stage.

And if there was one thing that Tony had learned in his three years at the Academy, it was not to disagree with a pissed Potts. He clamored to his feet and staggered onto the stage, waving awkwardly at the seated faculty members as he passed them on his way to the podium.

Clearing his throat, he adjusted the microphone and prepared to do what he did best -- bullshit.

“Uh, wow! This is such an honor,” He said, looking out into the vast expanse of black caps and mildly intrigued gazes. “So much so that I completely forgot that I was doing it!” The audience laughed, and Fury coughed in warning. “But don’t worry, I’ll just do this the old fashioned way. From the heart.”

“I’ve never really been much of a team player, as some of you know. I mean, when you look this good _and_ you’re this smart, the only companionship you need is a mirror!”

There was a small rumble of laughter from the crowd.

“And then I came here to Avengers Academy, and suddenly it was not only my job to be a hero, but I also had to _recruit_ heroes! At first, I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it and stay sane. Some of you are exhausting as hell!”

The crowd laughed louder that time.

“But some of you, no, _all of you_ are absolutely amazing. Thanks to you guys, I learned what it was like to have friends. Real, genuine friends, who saw me for me, and not because of what I had or what I could do for them. It was something that I had never known, nor did I ever think I would get to experience for myself...”

Tony paused and scanned the crowd for Steve. He found him, right at the front, looking up at him with eyes so full of hope and promise. Tony stared right into them as he continued his speech, forgetting all about the hundreds of other people staring at him and speaking as if it were just the two of them.

“Yeah, we had our fair share of disagreements -- usually over you people refusing to admit that I’m right when I _always_ am.” Steve rolled his eyes and smiled at Tony’s words. Tony smiled back. “But we had great moments, too. We all became the best heroes that we can be by supporting one another, by being there for each other, by being a team -- by being Avengers!”

Tony’s face warmed when he noticed the tears running down Steve’s cheeks, triggering his own eyes to start to water as he wrapped up the impromptu speech.

“So take what you’ve learned here at Avengers Academy with you, wherever you may go next. No matter what happens, we’re all still Avengers, and no one can ever take that away from us. There’s no need to be sad today, because it’s not over at all -- it’s only the beginning! So instead, let’s celebrate and party our asses off! Let’s make today a day to remember!” The crowd cheered, and Fury coughed in warning again, glaring not so discreetly at Tony.

Tony stifled a laugh and looked back at the crowd -- back at Steve -- his face tightening into something more serious. “And remember, even if it’s just an ‘until next time’, you don’t know how long it’s going to be. So if you have something to say to someone tonight, make sure you say it. Don’t waste a single opportunity.”

Steve looked at him, perplexed, as did many others in the crowd.

Yeah, probably not the liveliest note to end a speech on. He could fix that.

“...And free cheese for everyone at tonight’s festivities!” Tony added and the crowd roared with thunderous applause and invigorated cheers. Cheese fixed everything.

Tony threw up two peace signs over his head and grinned. “For Avengers Academy!”

“For Avengers Academy!” The crowd repeated back and in one foul swoop, every single cap in the audience went up in the air, creating a sea of black and red against the bright blue sky. The music kicked in, the tears started to fall, and just like that, the students of Avengers Academy were now the proud graduates of Avengers Academy.

The crowd began to disperse after Tony’s insightful words, much to the dismay of Fury, who desperately tried to get in a word of warning about the importance of keeping tonight’s party under control for the sake of their already fragile universe. He was ignored entirely.

“You’ll be sorry when our entire universe is homeless!” Fury called out, waving a dismissive hand at the chattering students. He shook his head and turned to Tony. “I gotta hand it to you, Stark, that was one hell of a speech. I knew you learned a thing or two during your time here.”

“Right, like how to perfect my beer pong game!” Tony snickered as Fury glowered at him. “Kidding, Nick! Man, am I going to miss getting that disapproving look from you all the time.”

“Yeah, and I’m going to miss giving it to you.” Fury gave him a pat on the shoulder and a barely there smile. “Now go have some fun -- but not _too_ much fun.” His smile morphed into a smirk and he winked. “And make sure you get that word in with Captain Rogers.”

Crap, even Fury knew? Was he really that obvious?

Tony’s cheeks flared up, and he nodded in thanks. He shrugged out of his robe and jumped off the stage, beelining through the bustling crowd to find Steve. He was stopped several times in his pursuit by his peers, all congratulating him on a well-done speech. Tony politely thanked each and every one of them, but kept his feet moving, only stopping once he reached Steve’s seat, which was empty and without a super-soldier in sight.

Tony frowned, staring at the vacant chair as if it had done something to offend him. Steve wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye, would he?

“He’s behind you,” Jan said in his ear, appearing out of nowhere and providing what Tony needed and wanted to hear, as usual. He truly did not deserve Janet Van Dyne, but damn, was he grateful as hell to have her.

“Did that other universe Tony give you the ‘winning-over-Steve-Rogers’ related advice that you were after?” She asked curiously.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, he did. More or less the same things you’ve been telling me for the past three years about how I need to get my ass into gear.” And the whole “destined soulmates with a relationship powerful enough to cause some serious shit should things go south”, but for now, he’d leave that out.

“I like the sound of other you,” Jan said, giggling. “Well then, let’s get this very fine ass moving, shall we?” She turned Tony around so he was fully facing Steve. “Go get ‘em, tiger.” Giving Tony an encouraging push, she guided him in Steve’s direction, watching with her ever-supportive gaze from the sidelines.

Steve ceased his conversation with Bucky and Sam when he noticed Tony. Tony flushed as their eyes met and he waved, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering frantically. Steve waved back at him, a cute, shy one, his already present smile growing wider as Tony approached. With each step, Tony’s heartbeat that much faster, blaring like a parade drum in his ears once he finally got to Steve.

This was it.

Bucky and Sam exchanged looks and quickly excused themselves, saying they had to go meet with Thor and Warlock for one last jam session. Bucky pat Steve’s shoulder and Sam winked at him, both looking rather smug about something as they trotted off.

“Hey,” Steve greeted. “I liked your speech! Was that really all unplanned?”

Tony laughed and nodded. “Sure was. Odds are Fury and Pepper did give me plenty of notice and I just forgot. I had some other things on my mind, what with graduation and the possible destruction of our universe.”

“Yeah, all valid concerns.” Steve laughed, briefly, and then he looked down at the pile of discarded caps on the ground. “I liked the ending especially. It was good advice, and hopefully, people will take it to heart before we all leave tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Tony replied, biting down on his lower lip.

Steve rubbed at the back of his neck. “So, I uh, couldn’t help but notice that you were looking right at me as you said that. Was there something you wanted to tell me?” He looked up at Tony, his eyes full of anticipation.

“Uh, well,” Tony spluttered. “It’s more of a request, really.”

Steve perked up. “Request?”

“Yes. I want…” _You_ , he thought to himself; he even could feel the word on the tip of his tongue, begging to come out. He went with something else instead -- “A hug.” -- Something stupid. Really, Stark?

“A hug?” Steve echoed.

“Yeah! Don’t you remember two years ago when I was trying out my ocular tech?” Tony said. “I asked you for a hug, you said no, and then I used my ocular tech to envision one instead?”

“I’ve hugged you countless times since then, Tony,” Steve said, and Tony could just hear the disappointment in his voice, despite his smile.

“Yeah, but we never _really_ made up for that one,” Tony suggested, feigning a relaxed smile. “It doesn’t have to be a hug. I mean hell, it can even be a handshake if you’d prefer!” He extended a hand out to, the gesture as ridiculous as he felt.

Steve just stared at it, bemused.

Tony’s throat tightened like he was drowning, suffocated by his own foolish words. He was floundering, his mind a frenzy as he tried to contrive a new, better excuse to salvage things.

But then that solemn plea of his Earth-616 counterpart came back to him — _Don’t lie to him. Don’t hurt him._ — and he knew exactly what he had to do. Tony had to be honest; he refused to let him down.

“Actually, it doesn’t have to be anything at all…” Tony began, forcing himself to look up from his jittery, sweaty hand and meet Steve’s eyes. “I guess I’m just buying time and coming up with lies because I’m too much of a coward to tell you that...I think I’m in love with you. I think that I have been for some time now. And I just couldn’t say goodbye without you knowing that. So...yeah.”

A wave of relief overtook Tony as the heavy, agonizing weight that had plagued him for three years was lifted off his shoulders. But even though the words and confession had finally come out, he knew he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. That all came down to Steve, and if he would take his hand and guide him out of the darkness.

At first, it seemed like he was going to, and Tony watched with bright, eager eyes as Steve’s hand reached out for his. But then, when it was only mere inches away, Steve just stopped altogether and brought his hand back to his side, all but forsaking Tony in that dismal forest.

The last glimmer of hope drained out of Tony’s face, and he stared down at his rejected hand, clenching it into a tight fist and cursing it for not being enough. Not being good in enough for _him_.

He should just...he should go. Find somewhere private to lick his wounds and mourn the loss of something that he’s never had and now, never would have.

So much for keeping that promise.

But just as Tony was about to turn away, strong muscular arms enveloped around him and brought him in for a tight embrace, all but begging him to stay. And in his ear, Tony heard something even more desperate than the unexpected hug.

"I'm scared, Tony."

Steve whispered it, his voice uncharacteristically small and barely audible. He buried his face in the crook of Tony's neck, staining it with something cold that felt like tears. "I don't want to say goodbye."

Those big arms squeezed him even tighter, and Tony shuddered, his eyes wide. He slid his own arms back around Steve, holding him with that same, impassioned need and desire.

"Let's get out of here, Steve. Let's talk about this.”

 

XXXXX

Steve’s dorm room was, at this point, pretty much bare bones; the closet was empty, there were small holes in the wall from the thumbtacks that once held up posters, and there was a big pile of carefully labeled cardboard boxes at the door, waiting to find out where they would next call home.

Steve took a seat on his bed, which had been stripped of its bedding, and Tony took the vacant spot beside him.

“This wasn’t what I imagined our first time in bed would be like,” Tony joked, attempting to lighten up the mood. Steve laughed, but Tony knew him well enough to recognize that it was a forced one. He put a comforting hand on Steve’s shoulder. “So what’s on your mind?”

Steve sighed. “What isn’t on my mind?” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, shifting closer to Tony. “We just graduated and I don’t know what I’m doing next, I’m scared that I’m not going to be a good hero without the support of the Academy, and I’m petrified that you’re going to be out of my life forever come tomorrow...”

“Hey, I also don’t know what I want to do after graduation, and frankly, I think everyone’s more or less in the same boat. We’ll figure it out, I promise,” Tony began, his arm wrapping around Steve’s shoulders. “And you were a good hero even before you came to the Academy. All it did was accentuate what you already had.” He tilted Steve’s chin toward him, looking him in the eye. “And I finally let you know how I feel after three years of attempting to do so. Do you really think that I’d just let you go now that I finally have you?”

“I guess not…” Steve said, frowning. “But what if I’m not good enough for you? What if I do something that messes us up for good?”

“You won’t, that’s impossible,” Tony reassured. “Because you and I? We’re destined, Steve.”

Steve pulled back, cocking a brow at Tony. “Destined? What do you mean destined?”

Would Steve think him crazy if he informed him of Tired Tony’s theory? Would Steve even believe it? Did _he_ even believe it?

“Alright, so hear me out -- last night, I went to another universe. And I met this other, older version of me. He told me about this theory that in every conceivable reality that they exist in, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are destined to have a powerful relationship,” Tony explained. “It can be a love so powerful that even others can prosper from it...or it can be a bitter hatred, with detrimental effects not only for us but possibly for our reality as a whole.”

Steve blinked at him, slowly. “I...there’s no way. We’re just two people. How could our relationship have an impact on the entire world?”

“I don’t know. I mean, he did say it was just a theory. And theories are meant to be tested.” Tony reached into the pocket of his hoodie, pulling out the interdimensional portal generator. “With this, we can visit any reality we want to. We can meet any Steve and any Tony in the entire multiverse.”

“You can’t be serious,” Steve said, looking at Tony like he was crazy.

“Of course I’m serious. Think about it, Steve, we can see firsthand if this theory is true. We can learn from the other versions of ourselves, see where they went wrong, where they went right.” Tony took Steve’s hand in his, looking him in the eye. “We can make sure that our relationship is absolutely perfect.”

Steve bit his lip, looking down at their intertwined hands and then back at the generator. “While I do think we should be forging our own path, I’m never one to turn down an opportunity to learn from others, especially from other Tony Starks.”

“Now there’s the spirit!” Tony hesitated before leaning in and pecking Steve on the cheek. They both flushed, like a pair of clumsy prepubescent kids exploring their hormones for the first time. They’d get more refined in due time.

Tony cleared his throat. “Anyway!” He reached in his pocket and pulled out the list of notes. “I’ve compiled a list of universes for us to visit. I already went to this one.” Tony pointed at ‘616’. “So why don’t we try the next one on the list -- Earth-1610!”

“Alright,” Steve agreed, and Tony began punching in the coordinates on the generator. “This thing is safe, right?”

“Of course it’s safe. I made it, and when has anything that I’ve made ever failed?”

“I can think of a few instances…” Steve began, but any doubt in his voice and body language seemed to fade as he spoke his next words. “But I trust you, Tony.”

Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and suddenly, life felt just the slightest bit easier. Because Steve _trusted _him. “I...thank you, Steve. You don’t know how much that means to hear. I won’t let you down, I promise.”__

__Steve smiled at him, radiant and sweet as ever. “I know you won’t.” He jolted as the portal materialized in front of them after Tony finished inputting the coordinates. “Woah!”_ _

__Tony chuckled and rose to his feet, gesturing to the portal. “After you.”_ _

__“No.” Steve stood up and gingerly took Tony’s hand. “Together.”_ _

__Tony smiled. “Yeah, I like the sound of that.” He squeezed Steve’s hand, and together, they stepped into the blue aura and into the unfamiliarity that was Earth-1610._ _

____

__XXXXX_ _

__“Where are we?” Steve asked as they walked out of the portal._ _

__“Hopefully, Earth-1610,” Tony said, sticking the generator back in his pocket. “Where on it, though, that’s part of the question.”_ _

__Steve’s brow furrowed and he crossed his arms. “What do you mean hopefully? You said that you’ve done this before.”_ _

__“I’ve done it once before.”_ _

__“ _Tony!_ ”_ _

__“Relax! I made it back, didn’t I?” Tony suggested. “Come on, you said you trusted me. I assure you, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”_ _

__And really, there wasn’t; the generator had worked like a charm the last time he had used it, so surely it had worked just as well this time._ _

__Of course the portal had meant to take them to an oddly ovate and spacious office with walls adorned with portraits of past U.S. presidents, and a well-vacuumed carpet at the center that had the Seal of the President stitched into it._ _

__Wait. What?_ _

__“Tony... is this the Oval Office?” Steve asked, frantically looking around the space and seeming both petrified and ecstatic about it. “As in the _President’s_ Oval Office?” _ _

__“It’s...a very strong possibility, yes.” Tony glanced down at the generator, double checking to make sure that everything had been input right._ _

__“Well, why on earth would we be here? How does that portal thing work anyway?” Steve said in a loud whisper._ _

__“The generator is supposed to scan your DNA as you hold it and bring you right to your alternate self, should one exist in the corresponding dimension that you’re visiting,” Tony explained, looking back up at Steve. “And based on its current settings, it's working perfectly.”_ _

__“So you’re saying that, in this reality, one of us is the Presi-” Steve began, but was cut off by the sound of a door opening._ _

__Panicking, Tony grabbed Steve and shoved him down under the desk -- the friggin’ Resolute Desk -- and climbed underneath it with him. He leveled his breathing and forced himself to stay completely still, which was a difficult feat considering how desirably close he was pressed up against Steve in the tight space. He listened closely as he heard two people enter the office._ _

__“Why did they have to schedule six press conferences in one day? This is torture, I hate being here,” A gruff, masculine voice complained._ _

__“Because you’re never in the office in the first place. You can’t avoid them forever,” The second voice responded, this one higher and sultry-sounding._ _

__“No, but I can try,” Gruff voice grumbled, both of the footsteps coming to a halt in the center of the room._ _

__“Well, we’ve got some time before the next one. How about I help you relax, darling?” Sultry voice suggested._ _

__Tony didn’t hear a reply from Gruff voice; instead, he heard fervent, elephant-like footsteps heading right toward the desk -- right toward them. Shit! He paled as two pairs of well-polished leather shoes rounded the desk and stopped in front of them._ _

__Maybe they wouldn’t look down._ _

__“What the hell?”_ _

__Dammit._ _

__Tony and Steve glanced up and met the forceful, impatient scowl of a burly blonde man and the amused smirk of a handsome goateed man --- better known as Tony Stark and Steve Rogers of Earth-1610._ _

__“Who are you? What are you doing under my desk? Get out of there!” The other Steve -- President Cap -- demanded, hooking a thumb over his shoulder._ _

__“Just, uh, wanted to surprise you, your Presidentness, sir.” Tony winced at his own words. Presidentness? Man, he really did not have a future career in politics. He crawled out and scrambled to his feet, Steve following behind him._ _

__Once they were out of the way, President Cap took his seat at the desk, and his Tony plopped right into his lap, comfortable and relaxed. “Well?” He asked them, his voice sharp._ _

__“I, we’re you. Well, uh, I mean. Tony is obviously a version of your Tony, Mr. President, sir. But I’m you,” Steve stuttered. “We’re from another dimension.”_ _

__Tony nodded. “Earth-TRN562, to be specific...sir.” God, he’s never said ‘sir’ this much in his life._ _

__Sultry Tony giggled. “Oh, they’re just adorable. Can we keep them? The press has been waiting for you to get a presidential pet, and they’re far cuter than even the fanciest of pedigree poodles.”_ _

__“I don't think this is what they had in mind.” President Cap glanced over at his sweaty, jittery counterpart, looking genuinely concerned. “You alright?”_ _

“Yeah, I’m great! Sorry, I’ve just never met another version of myself, let alone one who’s the President!” Steve said, eyes as starry as the American flag beside the desk in front of them. “Are you really Captain America and the President? Like, at the same time?”

__President Cap sighed, running a frustrated hand over his face. “Yes, but I didn’t exactly ask to be the latter.”_ _

__“That’s so cool!” Steve practically squeed. “And am I really in your office at the nation’s capital?”_ _

__“Sort of.” Sultry Tony laughed and shook his head. “This is President Cap’s office, yes, but we’re actually in New York.”_ _

__Steve’s brows knitted together. “New York? But this is so obviously the Oval Office. Isn’t that supposed to be in Washington?”_ _

__“Indeed it is.” Sultry Tony said. “Or at least it used to be. You can thank Reed Richards for that.”_ _

__Richards. Tony recalled the name; Tired Tony had mentioned him as well and also in a disdainful manner._ _

__Maybe this Richards guy being an asshole was also a universal constant._ _

__“But!” Sultry Tony continued. “Thanks to my superb decorating skills, my dear President still gets to have his own Oval Office and without the risk of inhaling any dangerous radiation.”_ _

__“It was excessive and unnecessary,” President Cap grumbled._ _

__“Just like me.” Sultry Tony winked, and it was then that Tony noticed his eyes. They were blue, just like his Earth-616 counterpart, but lacking that graveness. Still, there was something dark in there, suggesting that he had still experienced his fair share of hardship. Maybe he was just good at masking it, in true Tony Stark fashion._ _

But regardless of what he may or may not be hiding, his exuberant confidence did not seem falsified. It took a special kind of person to straddle Captain America -- no, the _President_ \-- in the friggin’ Oval Office, while in the company of two perfect strangers.

__This guy was...wow, this guy was _a lot_._ _

__“Wait, hold on,” Steve said. “Did you say radiation in Washington?”_ _

__“Well of course, what do you expect after an entire city was leveled?” Sultry Tony said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He looked back at President Cap. “We really should do something about that now that the second civil war is over.”_ _

__“Second civil war?” Tony asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer._ _

__“Yeah, states were seceding left and right! Things got pretty ugly for awhile, especially after The New Republic of Texas tried to nuke America,” Sultry Tony explained. “But fortunately, my tumor was able to disable it.”_ _

__Steve and Tony blinked, staring at the other Tony as if he had five heads and was speaking an alien language._ _

__“Your...tumor?” Steve eventually asked._ _

__“Yes, his name is Anthony, and he’s such a good little boy,” Sultry Tony cooed, his face lighting up with paternal pride. “Would you like to meet--”_ _

“No, no, for the love of God, do not bring your Tumor into this,” President Cap interrupted, and Tony was beyond grateful that he did. He didn’t think he’d ever be ready to find out what meeting a tumor -- a tumor with a _name_ \-- entailed.

__President Cap looked, well, more like glared, at Steve and Tony. “Was there a reason you two were here other than to get in the way of my only hour of free time for the next week?”_ _

__Tony blinked. Why were they here again? All he could currently think about were sentient tumors and war-mongering cowboys._ _

__Thankfully, Steve was at least composed enough to remember. “We’re actually looking into this theory pertaining to different Tony Starks and Steve Rogers in the multiver--”_ _

“--no, no, I am _not_ going to be your guinea pig for some transdimensional science project!” President Cap immediately snapped.

__“Calm down, darling,” Sultry Tony murmured, quelling his Steve’s anger with a string of sensual kisses along his chin. “Let’s at least hear them out, yeah?”_ _

__“...anyway,” Steve continued, cheeks flushing as he seemingly tried -- and failed -- to look away from the lascivious act in front of him. “It basically suggests that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are destined to be something great. That in every reality they both exist in, they’ll have something immensely powerful together.”_ _

__“Well, we’ve been called a power couple by People Magazine. Does that count?” Sultry Tony asked in between his kisses._ _

__Steve’s blush deepened. “Uh, yes, I suppose that would fit seeing as it does pertain to you being together.” His face scrunched up tightly. “You guys are together, right?”_ _

__“Oh yes, he’s been all mine for awhile now…” Sultry Tony said possessively._ _

__“So, does that make you the First Man then?” Tony asked smugly._ _

__“Yes.” “No.” Their counterparts answered in unison. Awkward._ _

__Sultry Tony halted his kisses and pulled back, glowering at his Steve. “What do you mean ‘no'?’”_ _

“What do _you_ mean yes?” President Cap questioned. “We’re not married, therefore, you’re not the First Man.”

__“Who gives a damn about marriage?” Sultry Tony said, affronted. “All this time I thought I was the Jackie O to your Kennedy, and now you’re telling me that I’m your Marilyn?” A smirk surfaced on his face, as did a lewd look in his eye, any anger that he had been harboring seemingly gone already. “Although, there’s something admittedly more appealing and more sexy about being Marilyn…”_ _

__“Definitely…” President Cap agreed, and he grabbed Sultry Tony by his tie, looking more than ready to explore the merits of being Marilyn versus Jackie._ _

__But then he seemed to remember the other two people in the room. Groaning, he grudgingly pulling back, but kept Sultry Tony’s silk tie in his firm grasp. “Alright, so you’ve got your evidence. We’re together, we’re powerful. That answers your question; you can go now.”_ _

__“It was nice meeting you two,” Sultry Tony said, sounding polite, but also seeming eager and ready to say his goodbyes. “Come visit us again soon.”_ _

__“Don’t invite them back, Tony.”_ _

__“You’re right, we’ll visit their reality instead. We’re overdue for an interdimensional excursion anyway.”_ _

__President Cap rolled his eyes, but didn’t refute the idea. He looked over at Tony’s generator and then back up at him, raising an impatient brow._ _

__Tony got the message loud and clear. He nodded apologetically and prepped a portal for their next stop. “Nice meeting you guys. I hope there’s no more leveling of cities or civil wars in your near future.”_ _

__“And I hope you win re-election, Mr. President,” Steve said kindly, still staring at his other self like he was the best thing since sliced bread, despite the fact that President Cap had been something of a colossal jerk to him._ _

__Granted, it seemed like he was that way with everyone. And if nothing else, it was good for Steve’s confidence to see a version of himself that was successful and happy and -- most importantly -- with his Tony in what seemed to be a healthy, albeit extremely strange, relationship._ _

__“Thank you,” President Cap said to Steve, though his full attention seemed to be on the man in his lap. “You’re a good kid. Take care of yourself, and him, too.” President Cap managed to finish his thought just before Sultry Tony jumped his bones and began a full-on make-out session._ _

__God, they couldn’t have waited the thirty seconds for them to leave?_ _

__Tony rapidly finished inputting the coordinates, all the while blushing profusely and trying to look anywhere but at the intimate display in front of him. He and Steve both bolted in the portal the second it appeared, leaving President Cap and Sultry Tony to their much deserved hour -- or twenty-seven minutes -- of ‘relaxation’._ _

 

 

XXXXX

“Did we make it? I can’t see anything,” Steve said, his steps slow and careful in the darkness.

Tony used the light from his gauntlet to illuminate the dreary building. “Well, this definitely isn’t the White House.” He took Steve by the hand and lead them down a dark hall. “Looks like a sort of base of operations.”

“But it seems so new, so well-maintained…” Steve mused, his eyes following the light as Tony shined it. “And yet, there’s not a soul in here."

“You sure about that?” A voice from behind them said, and Tony’s ears twitched as he heard something all too familiar -- the sound of a repulsor beam firing up.

Tony and Steve whipped their heads around and came face to face with a meticulously crafted suit of red and gold armor, providing the only other source of light amidst the shadows of the forsaken space.

It was Iron Man of Earth-19999, holding a defensive position and looking like he was preparing to lunge into an attack at any moment.

Tony reacted fast and fired up his own repulsor beam. “We come in peace, I swear!”

“You come in peace to break into a private facility and steal my tech? Doubtful, kid,” Iron Man said squarely.

“I didn’t steal your tech. _I_ made this!” Tony said, offended, and wishing he had on one of his far more impressive armors on right about now to shove it in the face of his very hostile counterpart. “Come on, don’t you recognize me? I’m you, I’m Tony Stark!”

Iron Man scoffed. “Last I checked, Tony Stark wasn’t some punk with a bad haircut. I’ll give you one last chance to explain yourself.”

“I did explain myself! Man, I know Tony Stark has an ego but come on, you really think you’re the only one in the multiverse? I’m Tony Stark of Earth-TRN562--”

“--and I’m Steve Rogers of Earth-TRN562.” Steve interjected, removing his shield from his back and holding it in front of himself and Tony. “Please, let’s not make this difficult, uh, other Tony. We mean it when we say that we come in peace. We just want to meet you and learn about your universe.”

Iron Man froze, his gaze fixated on Steve — specifically on the shield. After a brief and tense silence, Iron Man lowered his repulsor.

Tony did the same with his own repulsor and glared at the other Iron Man. “You really know how to welcome your guests, don’t you, Stark?”

“Sorry, I can’t say I’ve been visited by many other teenage versions of myself at three AM,” Iron Man replied sarcastically. Tony was about to correct him -- he was twenty-two, thank you very much -- but he got distracted as the armor gracefully started to fall off his counterpart and stack up in a neat, stagnant form behind him. It was then that Tony could see the man beneath the armor -- the very belligerent Tony Stark of Earth-19999.

The first thing that stood about his counterpart was his age. It was surprising to see a version of himself that was pushing -- if not already -- fifty. His hair and goatee were peppered with greys, and he had tight wrinkles along his face, far too many for a man his age to have. He was small in physique, especially when compared to the other Tony Starks that they had encountered thus far, and much like Tony Stark of Earth-616, his eyes were also tired and weighed down by heavy bags. But they were hollow and desolate, devoid of that one last spark that Tired Tony still possessed.

Whatever it was that had caused the sadness to form in his eyes, the effects of it didn’t seem reversible. Tony felt a chill overtake him as his counterpart broke his fixation on Steve’s shield and made eye contact with him.

“Come this way,” The other Tony said and he started to walk off. He clapped his hands twice and the lights around them turned on, easing the view of the lavish — though still eerily empty — facility.

They passed dozens of rooms, all vacant and dark inside. They passed a swanky bar and party room, perfectly pristine and looking like it had never once been used. They passed a huge wall with a stylistic ‘A’ was carved into it, and that was when Tony realized what this building was: a headquarters for this reality’s Avengers. And yet, there didn’t seem to be any Avengers living in this space specifically crafted for them.

Why was that? What had his other self done to chase them away?

The other Tony eventually stopped in a lounge area upstairs and gestured for them to sit. He did the same, but didn’t fully relax into the comfort of the plush couch, sitting in a rigid and upright manner. He passively offered refreshments; Steve and Tony declined.

“So you really expect me to believe that you figured out interdimensional travel just so you could meet other versions of yourselves?” The other Tony -- the older Tony -- asked roughly after a brief, uncomfortable silence.

“What, like it’s hard?” Tony joked, and Older Tony glared at him. He rolled his eyes and continued. “Yeah, we’re kind of testing this theory that involves the multiverse and us meeting other versions of Tony Stark--”

“--and Steve Rogers.” Steve chimed in, taking his own turn at looking into the dejected brown eyes. “Do you know him? Is he around?”

Older Tony stiffened, wrapping his arms around himself, "I know him, yeah. Or," he paused, breaking eye contact, "I used to."

“Used to?” Steve asked, hesitantly. “Is he...? Did you?”

“No, _I_ didn’t.” Older Tony put a defensive hand over his chest, where the arc reactor would sit if he were in the suit, and clutched at his t-shirt tightly. Unlike Tony, it seemed like he didn’t need it when he wasn’t piloting the suit. “He’s alive. Where he is, I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

“You don’t sound like you don’t care,” Steve said, his voice soft, but with a tinge of that Steve Rogers frustration that Tony had been on the opposite end of enough to recognize. The older Tony pursed his lips, eyes darting to look somewhere, anywhere but at them. “You two had something of a falling out, I take it? We won’t ask you specifics; it’s clearly taking a toll on you.”

“But regardless of what happened,” Tony began. “You don’t have to lie to us about how you feel about him. I can tell that he was someone special to you, that you were close.”

Older Tony laughed, cold and bitter. “That’s the real kicker here, we weren’t,” He mumbled, fingers clenching into a tight fist over his arcless chest. “I never really got the chance to know him. It seemed like we were always too busy fighting about something -- the Chitauri, Ultron, the Accords -- and then finally, one fight led to the end before it could even begin.”

Tony felt Steve squeeze his hand, and he scooted closer to him. “But you wanted to be close to him, right?”

“Oh god, yeah, more than anything…” Older Tony said, eyes glistening with what looked like tears. “I can’t explain it, I just felt so drawn to him. Unfortunately, I was also drawn to fighting him and disagreeing with him.” He smiled weakly, with some underlying bitterness evident, too. “And sadly, I guess that desire to win outweighed my desire for love.”

“Hey…” Tony reached forward, placing a comforting hand on the older man’s thigh. “Believe me, if anyone knows about Tony Stark’s desire to constantly win and be right it’s me, a fellow Tony Stark. Just because of...whatever it is that happened--” Please, oh _please_ let the details be spared. “--Doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line for you and Steve.”

Steve nodded. “Exactly. And I can tell you as a Steve Rogers, who has met many other Steve Rogers, that we are definitely drawn toward Tony Starks.” He’s met one, technically, but Tony figured that Steve was just trying to boost Older Tony’s confidence. A little white lie wouldn’t hurt.

Despite their best efforts at an inspirational heart-to-heart, Older Tony didn’t look convinced; he stared at them both skeptically. “Look, things might have worked out for the two of you, sure, and we might be the same person--” he gestured between himself and Tony, “--but that doesn’t mean we have the same experience. You can’t even imagine what me and _him_ have been through, and it’s not something that’s magically gonna be fixed by me telling him that I love him.”

“Of course it won’t be, because you don’t love him,” Tony said, bluntly, garnering surprised looks from both Older Tony and Steve. “I mean, you said it yourself. He’s a stranger to you, and someone that you’ve fought more or less since day one. You don’t love him -- you have the _desire_ to love him. Now it’s time to do something about it, something other than sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. That isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

It was probably hypocritical of Tony to be calling the other Tony out, seeing as he spent three years dragging his feet and silently pining after Steve, but he never let it get this bad. He never drove Steve away, or the entirety of The Avengers either.

“I am doing something about it!” Older Tony snapped, eyes narrowing. “I’m doing everything in my power to bring them back home! It’s just a little hard when they’re wanted fugitives.”

“Do you have a way of safely getting in contact with your Steve?” Tony asked, disregarding that whole ‘fugitive’ comment. The less he knew about this horrible universe, the better.

“Yes, but--” Sad Tony began because, of course, he had an excuse for practically everything.

“When was the last time you were in contact with him?”

“That’s really not any of your--”

“I’m just going to take that as far too long, then,” Tony decided. “If you really claim that you want to love him, then get in contact with him. Whatever it is he did that makes you grip your chest like that, and stare in fear at my Steve and his shield, and live in your world of lies and excuses, I can guarantee you, it isn’t worth it. Not when there’s so much that you can be together!”

At first, it seemed like he had struck a chord with the other Tony; his face softened and he looked pensive, like he was actually considering the advice from his younger self.

But instead turning a new leaf, he chose to turn his back on them.

“I think we discussed enough here today.” The older Tony decided, rising to his feet and starting to walk away. “I’m sure the two of you have other Tony Starks to harass with that little theory of yours, don’t you?”

“What?” Steve exclaimed. “We’re not done here, we can’t be done here!” He stood up, and Tony put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Let him go, Steve. If he doesn’t want to listen, that’s his choice,” Tony looked to the other Tony’s back. “But he never did let us explain ourselves! Surely he has the decency to listen to that.”

Older Tony froze; he didn’t turn around, but Tony took his stopping as an indicator that he was listening.

"There's this theory -- a counterpart of ours has -- that in every universe, where Steve and I meet, whatever happens between us is powerful. Destined," Tony said proudly, smiling at Steve as he spoke. "It can be love or hate. But, no matter what, it's what we decide. Together."

After a long, tense silence, Older Tony slowly glanced over his shoulder, opening his mouth like he was about to say something.

Nothing came out.

He turned his back to them and walked away, fading into the shadows of the compound. The sound of his fast-moving footsteps echoed, along with a cry lost to the dark halls. Soon there was nothing, save for the same silence that had greeted Tony and Steve when they first arrived, but now that Tony knew the version of himself that inhabited the place, it somehow felt even more dark and hopeless.

Tony sighed and pulled out the generator, typing in the coordinates for the next universe on their list: Earth-3490. “Let’s go, Steve...” He put a hand on Steve’s back and guided him into the portal.

Steve didn’t move right away. He stared into the space where Older Tony had disappeared into, looking like he wanted to go after him. Sweet Steve. He always wanted to help, he was a hero through and through. But sometimes, maybe people were beyond help.

Or maybe they just needed to figure it out on their own.

With one last nudge, Tony got Steve fully into the portal. He started to follow in behind him, but then stopped and looked over his shoulder, staring at the same spot Steve had been looking at. He grabbed at his own reactor, clutching it tightly. “Good luck, Tony.”

He stepped fully into the portal and left the compound.

 

XXXXX

The pleasant aroma of lemon-lavender scented candles and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies awaited Steve and Tony as they arrived on Earth-3490, and damn, was that refreshing after the nightmare that Earth-19999 had proven to be. The setting around them was, much like the scent, very blissful and domestic. The home, or rather, the mansion, that they were in had a rustic, old quality to it that was charming. It was well-maintained and modernized, without losing the intent of the original architecture style.

Definitely a home suited for a version of Tony Stark, and (hopefully) Steve Rogers, too.

Tony breathed out, relieved. “Things are looking up already. Let’s see if we can find the kitchen, those cookies smell heavenly.”

“Don’t be so sure; things aren’t always what they seem. We were nearly attacked on our last stop, remember?” Steve gasped, putting a hand on Tony’s chest to stop him. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Tony asked, clearly too loudly, and Steve covered his mouth with his hand.

“There’s someone behind us…” Steve whispered. “Alright, on the count of three we turn around. You get your repulsor ready, I get my shield. Don’t attack, just be ready in case they do. Got it?” Tony nodded. “Okay. 3...2...1...now!”

Steve and Tony turned in unison, shield and repulsor at the ready, all aimed at one very fat, very fluffy maine coon cat.

The cat mewed and walked over without any fear or hesitance, brushing up against Tony’s legs.

“Some threat, Cap,” Tony joked, kneeling down to pet the cat, who purred happily. After a couple of nice pets, the cat pulled away and darted down the hall, getting about halfway there before he stopped and looked back at Steve and Tony.

Steve put his shield on his back. “I think he wants us to follow him.”

“More importantly, I think he’s taking us toward the kitchen.” Tony grinned and headed up to join the cat. “You think they have cheese here?”

“That’s a safe bet, assuming this is the home of this universe’s Tony Stark. I can’t imagine a reality where you’re not obsessed with cheese,” Steve said, chuckling.

The cat trotted off once Steve and Tony were moving in his direction, leading them into a spacious kitchen where a cheerful, well-built blonde man clad in an apron that barely fit him was putting together a tray of cookies and coffee. The brawny man looked up after Ogma meowed loudly, eyes locking onto Steve and Tony. He smiled warmly, not seeming phased by their presence at all.

“Looks like you found some late guests, Ogma!” The blonde man said, extending a massive hand for a shake. “Welcome to Earth-3490, I’m Steve Stark-Rogers. Forgive my rudeness, Natasha didn’t tell me she invited newcomers this week!”

“Natasha?” Steve asked, awkwardly shaking his counterpart’s hand.

“Stark-Rogers?” Tony asked, glancing ostentatiously down at the hand when it was his turn to shake, and low and behold, there it was -- a gold band on his ring finger, shining brilliantly under the kitchen’s overhead lights.

He and Steve were not only a couple in this universe -- they were _married_!

The other Steve -- Domestic Steve -- nodded, caressing his ring fondly. “For the past three years. I’m probably the luckiest guy in the multiverse. I take it the two of you aren’t married yet?”

Tony and Steve both blushed and shook their heads.

“That’s alright! You two do seem kind of young for that. And at least you’re together, which is more than some other versions of us can say, eh?” Domestic Steve chuckled, playfully punching Steve’s shoulder.

Steve winced, rubbing his shoulder. Evidently, Steve’s counterpart didn’t know his own super strength.

Domestic Steve picked up the tray of coffee and cookies. “Follow me, I’ll introduce you to the others.”

Others?

Steve and Tony exchanged perplexed looks, but followed behind Domestic Steve, the cat -- Ogma -- trotting along beside them.

“Honey, I found some stragglers in the kitchen! You didn’t tell me you invited newcomers this week!” Domestic Steve called out as he stepped into the adjacent room, Steve and Tony hesitantly following in behind him, beyond underprepared for what was awaiting them inside.

On one couch, there was another _another_ version of Steve Rogers, sporting a big smile that seemed like it was permanently molded onto his face, and seated next him was, presumably, his Tony Stark. They looked younger than the other Tonys and Steves they had encountered thus far -- probably no more than six or seven years older than him and Steve -- and they both had such perfectly toned bodies, perfectly white teeth to accentuate their perfect smiles, and they were cuddled up against each other in such a perfect, picturesque manner.

Looking at them and their sweetness made Tony feel both envious and sick. But mostly envious, _very_ envious.

On the couch opposite them, there was a woman around the same age as Domestic Steve, with long dark hair tied up in a messy bun, a small grease mark on her left cheek, and a bright blue light emitting through her dirty tank-top at the center of her chest. She looked over at Steve and Tony, bemused. “I can’t say I invited them, no, but this isn’t really an invitation-only kind of affair.”

She lifted her hand up to wave, a gold band on her ring finger glimmering under the fluorescent lights, identical to the one Domestic Steve was wearing. “Welcome to our home, boys. I’m Natasha Stark-Rogers.”

“Stark-Rogers?” Steve repeated incredulously, his mouth agape.

“Natasha?” Tony questioned. “You can’t be Natasha, she’s supposed to be a red-head with a bad attitude, but you’re not that. No, you’re like me! You...your chest!” Tony pointed, probably rudely, at Natasha’s arc reactor and then at his own.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to stare at a woman’s chest?” Natasha said, smirking. “Come on, it’s a big multiverse out there. Gotta balance out that sausage fest somehow.” She sat up, adjusting her hold on the couch pillow that she was clutching. “Now that we got the shock out of the way, have a seat. Relax and join us!”

Tony and Steve timidly sat on the other side of the couch that Perfect Steve and Perfect Tony were occupying. Domestic Steve set the tray down on the coffee table, and he and Perfect Steve attentively began to prepare cups of coffee, more or less black with just the slightest bit of sugar. They then handed over the coffees to their respective Starks, and in exchange, they each received a kiss on the cheek. All the moves were done in complete and almost creepy synchronization with one another.

Once their Starks were tended to, Domestic Steve and Perfect Steve looked over at their younger counterpart expectantly.

“Oh, right!” Steve mirrored the previous actions of the other Steves and handed the cup over to Tony, hands slightly shakey and making the china clatter.

Blushing, Tony accepted the cup and kissed Steve’s cheek. “Thank you.” He didn’t have the heart to tell Steve -- or the other versions of himself -- that he actually preferred his coffee drowned in sugar and caramel creamers. That just felt like a cardinal sin for any version of Tony Stark.

“So, I’m curious, who told you about the meetings?” Natasha inquired.

Tony blinked, lowering his cup after taking a sip. “Meetings?”

“Yeah, the monthly Stark and Rogers multiverse meetings. First Tuesday of every month!” Perfect Steve said enthusiastically.

“Oh, no, we actually didn’t know about that,” Steve replied, taking a cookie as Domestic Steve offered the plate out to him and Tony. “I guess it’s sort of a funny coincidence that we ended up in your reality on this day. So you guys do this every month then?”

Domestic Steve nodded, offering the plate of cookies to his wife, who gleefully took a big handful. “We do. It was Tasha’s idea, actually. A few years into our marriage, she told me that she wanted to spend time with other couples. But it’s sort of hard to relate to the regular folk when you’ve got a lifestyle like ours.”

“And the couples that we do work with, I already see _far_ too much of,” Natasha murmured, taking a big chomp out of a cookie.

“Yes, you can’t exactly gossip about them if they’re here, now can you?” Domestic Steve teased, and Natasha playfully shoved him. “Anyway,” He continued. “Around the same time, Tasha was working on a transporter that would allow access into other realities. Just like the two of you, presumably, we wanted to meet other versions of ourselves. We found several, many of which were also in love and curious about the multiverse. And well, there’s no one easier to relate to than yourself, I suppose.”

“So we’ve been meeting monthly for almost two years,” Natasha added, sounding quite proud. “It’s mainly a chance to vent about things and people in our own realities. And typical couples talk, too.”

“How many different versions of Tony--” Tony paused, not so subtly glancing just below Natasha’s arc reactor. “Uh, sorry, Stark and Rogers typically come to these meetings?”

“Well, us, of course,” Domestic Steve put his arm around Natasha. “And Steve and Tony from Earth-12041 come pretty frequently.” He gestured to Perfect Steve and Perfect Tony, who nodded and smiled their perfectly annoying, adorable smiles. “The guys from Earth-20051 normally come by--”

“Ugh, you’re lucky that you missed out on meeting them. Those guys are unbearably cute, oh man does it get old,” Perfect Tony complained. “They never shut up about their basketball games, their cheeseburger dinners, and their--”

“--And you _don’t_ talk incessantly about your arcade dates and Titanic art posing sessions? Tony Stark, you know better than to lie,” Natasha scolded, and Perfect Tony very maturely stuck his tongue out at her. “Don’t listen to him, they’re sweet boys and you would love them. But other than them, that’s usually it. I’ve chatted with Tony Stark from Earth-1610 about coming by, but something strange always seems to be happening that prevents them from coming. Can’t tell if he’s bullshitting me or not. And the Earth-616 guys? God, we haven’t seen them since the beginning.”

“Yeah, I know of them both. The Tony Stark of Earth-616? he’s kind of the reason I’m here in the first place. He told me about this theory, about how--”

“Rogers and Stark are destined to have a very powerful relationship in every reality?” Natasha interrupted, and Tony just stared blankly, speechless as the words were taken right out of his mouth “What, you think you and 616 are the only ones to look into this little universal constant?”

“...no, but it’s still weird to talk about it, let alone hear a super-hot girl version of me talk about it,” Tony said, Natasha chortling with delight at the compliment.

“But yeah, that’s what brought us here in the first place. We wanted to see if there’s any truth to it. Some findings have been...mixed,” Tony said, frowning as the image of Old Tony alone and abandoned burned vividly in his head. “While others have been amazing and inspiring.” His frown flipped up into a small smile as he looked up at his other ‘findings’ — the happy couples of Earth-3490 and Earth-12041. “And I want to make sure that, in our conclusion, Steve and I end up like you guys, and not like...others.”

Perfect Steve leaned over and clamped a big hand on Tony’s shoulder, his eyes sympathetic. “You won’t. Just so long as you keep that desire and stay true to it.”

Domestic Steve nodded in agreement. “But remember, it’s not always going to be easy. You’re going to disagree, you’re going to fight, you’re going to--”

“--trip over someone’s dirty boots even when you _told_ them, time and time again to put them in the closet?” Perfect Tony interjected, cocking a brow at his Steve.

“Or find the toilet seat left up almost every single morning, even after three years of marriage?” Natasha quipped, poking Domestic Steve’s forehead.

Domestic Steve and Perfect Steve both held their heads in shame and muttered: “Sorry, dear.”

Their respective Starks chuckled and kissed them softly on the lips.

Tony laughed. “It’s hard to imagine those Earth-20051 guys being any more disgustingly sweet than the four of you.”

“You guys will get there in due time, trust me,” Domestic Steve assured. “How long have you two been together?”

“Uh, it’s hard to say given all the universes we’ve visited thus far and the possible loss of time.” Steve glanced down at the face of his watch, scrutinizing it carefully. “So let’s say...about five hours?”

The entire room let out a loud chorus of ‘Awwwws’, and Ogma the cat looked up from where he was asleep along the windowsill. He narrowed his eyes at Steve and Tony, likely jealous that the coos and affections weren’t for him. He made a daring jump from the windowsill and onto the pillow that Natasha had in her lap, landing in a less than graceful fashion.

“Woah, easy there, ya jerk!” Natasha scooped the fluff ball up and dropped him in her husband’s lap. “You can’t be jumping on me anymore, the baby’s not going to like that.”

Tony, having chosen in an inopportune time to take a sip of his coffee, nearly gagged on it at Natasha’s unexpected words. “Baby?”

Natasha smiled, putting aside the pillow that she had been cradling to reveal a round, full baby bump.

And if _that_ wasn’t the ultimate finding, then Tony didn’t know what was.

Steve’s eyes widened, gaping at Natasha’s very pregnant stomach. At least it was better than staring at her chest. “I...wow! Congratulations.”

“Thanks! Only four more months, and then I can work near questionable radiation and go back to my usual ten cups of coffee a day!” Natasha said cheerfully.

“...and we get a baby?” Domestic Steve said, mildly affronted.

“Yeah, that’s okay too, I guess,” Natasha joked, giggling as she kissed the disapproving pout on her husband’s face.

Perfect Tony huffed, stubbornly crossing his arms. “Yeah, yeah, another case of Natasha getting something good over the rest of us. Not only does she get to be the married Stark, but she also gets to be the pregnant one, too!”

Perfect Steve looked at his partner dubiously. “You don’t seriously want a baby, do you?”

“What? No, of course not, we have Sam for that,” Perfect Tony refuted. “I just know that she’s going to rub it in my face for ages.”

“Hey, after having to be out of the armor and carrying this bowling ball around for nine months, I deserve to brag all the way up to my kid’s college graduation!” Natasha quipped back, delicately stroking along her stomach.

Tony’s eyes went wide and he sat upright. “Graduation! Oh man, I almost forgot! We need to get back before we miss all of tonight’s party. Jan’ll flip on me if we’re not there.”

“Graduation, huh? Well, that sounds exciting! Congrats!” Perfect Steve said in his usual enthralled tone of voice. Tony was pretty sure that this guy could make reading the ingredients on a shampoo bottle sound positively invigorating.

“Thank you,” Steve said as Tony began to fumble around with the generator. He turned to Domestic Steve and Natasha. “And thank you for your hospitality.”

“Anytime. And don’t be strangers, alright? We’d love to have the two of you as regulars for the monthly meetings,” Domestic Steve encouraged, his hand slipping over the one that Natasha had on her stomach.

“Hey, some advice?” Tony asked, looking to Natasha and Perfect Tony. “This is kind of my first time traversing the multiverse and I want to make sure we don’t return to next week in my own dimension. Any suggestions?”

“Let me take a look at i-” Natasha began to sit up, but Domestic Steve tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her back, shaking his head. “Oh come on, it can’t be _that_ much radiation.”

“I can take a look at it,” Perfect Tony offered, seeming quite smug about getting a chance to one-up Natasha. He took the generator from Tony and messed around with it for a minute or so before handing it back. “That ought to do it.”

Steve blinked. “How did he do that so fast?”

“I’m Tony Stark, it’s just what I do,” Perfect Tony said with a cocky grin and he rejoined his Steve on the couch, fitting right back into his big arms perfectly, like a key in a lock.

“Yeah, well, I could have done it myself, actually. I just wanted to test you,” Tony lied and Perfect Tony snorted, waving a dismissive hand in Tony’s direction.

Tony put in the coordinates for their home dimension -- the small screen now also asking him for a specific time of day -- and the blue portal appeared in no time. He looked back at the pair of happy couples and smiled sadly. “Guess this is goodbye…”

“Just for now. We’re going to see you next month!” Natasha insisted, chuckling. “And remember -- no matter what you see in other versions of yourselves out there in the multiverse, be it something good or bad, it’s important that the two of your forge your own path. And together.” She looked squarely at Tony. “And you, remember, no lying!”

“And make sure you listen to him,” Domestic Steve sternly told to his younger counterpart. “Even when you know he’s wrong, just at least make the effort to listen and steer him in the right direction.”

“We believe in you both. We _all_ believe in you both,” Natasha said softly, and Domestic Steve, Perfect Tony, and Perfect Steve all nodded and smiled brightly at the two of them.

“Thank you. We’ll see you all next month.” Steve waved and took Tony by the hand, guiding him toward the portal.

“Yeah, we’ll be there! And I’ll bring cheese, too!” Tony paused just as he was about to step into the portal, an inquisitive look on his face. “Quick, everyone, what’s your favorite kind?”

“Asiago,” Perfect Tony said immediately.

“American,” Perfect Steve said, of course being the one with the most cliche answer.

“Harvati, but because I’m pregnant, Parmesan,” Natasha said, her answer and consideration of the baby garnering a proud smile from her husband.

“Uh, Cheddar!” Domestic Steve chirped.

Tony nodded, making a mental note of the four types of cheese. “Perfect! Next time you see us, we’ll have good cheese and good stories to tell about how awesome we’re doing. See you then!” Tony said with the utmost confidence in his voice.

Because now, he didn’t just hope that he and Steve were going to be alright. He knew it.

With one last glance and one last smile, he and Steve stepped fully into the portal and headed back home.

 

XXXXX

“There you are!”

Jan scolded them the moment that they stepped out of the portal, mirroring the way she had ‘greeted’ Tony after his trip to Earth-616 a few hours prior. But this time, it wasn’t just Jan there when they stepped out of the portal -- it was the entire campus.

The portal that Perfect Tony had created for them not only brought them back in time, but also brought right to the graduation party. Talk about a direct delivery!

All at once, the entire party registered his and Steve’s arrival; the chatter ceased, the movements slowed, and the DJ paused the music. Everyone gawked at them, like they were just waiting for them to do something couple-y. It seemed that word traveled fast around campus, which was hardly surprising, considering Janet Van Dyne was in the know.

“Alright, alright, we get it! Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Tony said, instantly regretting his words when dozens of phones were pulled out and he was blinded by relentless bright flashes. “Well aren’t you all just _so_ clever?”

“Oh come on, Tony, you can’t blame them. Some of us have been waiting for three years for this to happen! Speaking of!” Jan turned to the crowd. “How about a round of applause for these two for finally getting their act together?”

Jan was the first to start clapping and surprisingly, everyone joined in -- hell, even Loki seemed happy for them!

Tony, being the ham that he was, wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity to bask in the praise and attention of an adoring crowd. He put an arm around Steve, giving the crowd a wave of thanks and his most charming smile.

Steve was a bit more awkward about the attention -- he always was -- but he still smiled and kept mouthing ‘Thank you’.

Eventually, the thunderous applause died down and party-related activities resumed.

For most of the night, Tony and Steve honestly didn’t see much of each other; they both were constantly being whisked off to say hello to someone, or, in Steve’s case, asked to demonstrate how to properly do the Charleston. But by far, the most common request for them both was to explain how their getting together had finally happened.

Tony thought about satisfying his own amusement, about changing the story to something fantastical and absurd every time someone asked.

But every time, he would look over at Steve across the dance floor, and Steve would give him a cute smile or look at him with those loving eyes, and Tony would just remember that this...this was his. And then the gushy, heartfelt sentiments just poured out like a waterfall, subjecting everyone who had asked to a good ten-minute declaration of his love for Steve Rogers.

Most people had politely excused themselves after about a minute or two of Tony’s animated profession, save for Kamala Khan, who listened attentively to Tony’s rambles for a good twenty-two minutes, all the while eagerly squeeing about her “ship finally being canon”.

It was safe to assume that there was going to be _a lot_ more fanfiction about him and Steve in the near future.

By midnight, the party started to wind down. People began to leave, be it back to their own respective realities, timelines, or to their dorms until morning. The lively party atmosphere shifted to something more melancholy, but with each parting, there was a mutual promise made that this wasn’t the end, it was an ‘until next time’.

After saying his goodbyes to both of his ‘Moon’ related individuals -- the Knight and the Girl -- Tony caught sight of Steve on the other side of the dance floor as he was parting ways with the other Captain America, Roberta.

Steve gave her a tight hug and a wave and then he noticed Tony looking his way. Grinning, he trotted across the now vacant dance floor to join him. “Hey! Were you thinking about heading out?

Tony nodded. “Yeah, I’ve still got some things I need to pack up at the Tower before Fury gives me my inevitable eviction notice tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, I think everyone is getting one of those come morning,” Steve laughed, a nervous and uneasy one. There was clearly something more pressing on his mind than packing. “So, uh, about tomorrow…”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Well, we never really discussed it, and I don’t know where you’re going tomorrow morning but wherever it is...I’d like to be there. If you’ll let me, of course,” Steve asked, anxiously, like it were the most absurd and ridiculous request imaginable.

Oh god, did Steve honestly think that after all they’d been through, after all that had been revealed, and after three years of obsessive pining that had finally transformed into something worthwhile, that he’d honestly be leaving campus tomorrow without him? At that, Tony couldn’t help but burst out laughing, garnering a panic-stricken reaction from Steve.

“Of course I’ll let you come with me, Steve!” Tony finally managed, his laughter subsiding. “I sort of just figured we’d be leaving together. You know, assuming our universe doesn’t implode on itself come morning.”

“Assuming everyone leaves campus by noon like Fury and Doctor Pym are saying, it won’t.” Steve chuckled, his expression a mixture of bashfulness and gratefulness. “Sorry, I just wanted to be sure that you wanted me around.”

“You’re too precious, you know that?” Tony said as Steve’s muscular arms slid around him and brought him close. “Actually, ever since we came back from Earth-3490, this idea has been floating around in my head about where to go next.”

“Oh?” Steve asked.

“Yeah! I’ve got this house here in New York where I grew up. Looks just like Natasha and her Steve’s place. It’s been more or less untouched since my parents passed away,” Tony mumbled, hoping that came out more appealing than it had sounded. “But uh, Jan and I were kicking around this idea about making a foundation for kids who want to be superheroes. I was thinking of using that as our base. And I was also thinking that maybe you’d want to be a part of it. Who better to train the next generation of heroes than Captain America?”

Steve beamed. “That sounds perfect. I’d love to be a part of your foundation.” He looked so relaxed and so assured; the exact opposite of how he had looked in his dorm room earlier today, and Tony couldn’t help but take pride in knowing that he had been responsible for that.

Well, along with some wise -- and some strange -- words from other Steves and Tonys of the multiverse, but still, mostly him. Always him.

“Excellent! See, I told you that you’d figure out what to do after graduation!” Tony said. “Granted, it’s not exactly being the President or anything, but you’ll get there someday.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Who knows?” Steve said, shrugging. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know what the future holds. All I do know is that we’re not going to be like any of the other Steves and Tonys that we saw today.”

“We’re not?” Tony asked, looking at Steve dubiously. Sure, he didn’t want to be depressed and lonely like Older Tony, and he sincerely doubted that he’d ever be ready to be pregnant like Natasha, but he’d gladly take the general theme of happy and together that he saw in the majority of the other Steves and Tonys.

“We’re not,” Steve repeated. “You and I? We’re going to be better than them all. We’re going to make even the cutest and loveliest versions of ourselves green with envy. We’re going to form our own life together, and it’s going to be great, perfect, because...” He looked at Tony fondly, a twinkle in his eye that shined even brighter than the boundless stars in the sky above. “I love you, Tony.”

“I love you too, Steve,” Tony repeated immediately, the words that were once impossible now easier to utter than breathing. “And even if we weren’t a universal constant, or destined soulmates, or whatever you want to call it, I’d still want you and I’d still love you. No matter what.”

Tony’s eyes locked onto Steve’s lips.

This was it.

He took a deep breath and leaned in like he had countless times in the past. But this time, he didn’t back down or come up with a lame insect-related excuse.

No, this time, Tony did what he once thought impossible -- he kissed Steve.

And wow, was it perfect, even better than his most intricate of his ocular tech fantasies. No simulator could even compare to how good Steve’s lips felt on his. They were warm, impossibly soft, and tasted like the Gouda cheese that Tony had fed him earlier at the party.

Tony savored the kiss for as long as he could, and when it felt like it was about to end, he kissed Steve again. And again. And then again, each kiss somehow even better than the previous one. He just couldn’t get enough. He’d never get enough.

And to think, it only took three years of awkward emotions and missed opportunities, one hell of an excursion through the multiverse, and a possible apocalypse to get them here.

But it was better late than never at all.

 

XXXXX

“Tony, come on, we need to get going! It’s our first official meeting with an invitation!” Steve said impatiently, leaning in the doorway of the kitchen as Tony put the finishing touches on his impressive-looking cheese platter.

“Just a second!” Tony said, rummaging through his new and improved cheese fridge. “No one ever told me what kind of cheese those 20051 guys like, and I didn’t have the time to get in contact with them to find out.”

What little free time Tony had this past month had been spent building his own -- also new and improved -- interdimensional portal generator, after Doctor Pym had managed to track him down and demanded Tony hand over the one that he ‘stole’. If anything, he had _borrowed_ it.

Steve shook his head and pinched his brow. “Just bring some more cheddar, everyone likes cheddar.”

“But it’s so common!” Tony whined. “Oooh, I’ve got this Muenster? Do you think they’d like that?”

“Yeah, they’ll love it,” Steve pulled Tony away from the fridge once he had the cheese in hand. “Now open the portal so we can get going.”

“Woah, woah! Slow your roll there, buster!” Jan yelped, flying into the kitchen and landing in front of them. “There’s someone waiting for you in the ballroom, Tony.”

“What? Jan, I told you, me and Steve are going to be out for the afternoon. You said you and Nat would handle any interviews for new recruits. And I swear, if any of those Hydra agents come by again and try to weasel their way in, you tell them--”

“No, no, it’s not that! It’s a surprise visitor, someone that I think you’ll be pretty excited to see,” Jan said, forcefully shoving Tony out of the kitchen -- something Steve had been trying and failing to do for the past twenty minutes -- and into the hallway. “Go on, go! You don’t want to keep them waiting. Oh, and you’re probably going to need more than one cheese platter!” Her mouth twisted into a knowing smirk as she watched them go, telling Tony that yeah, she was definitely up to something.

But still, curiosity tempted Tony, as it always did. He and Steve made their way to the ballroom, where a very familiar couple stood outside the doorway waiting for them.

“Natasha! Steve!” Tony exclaimed, rushing over and giving each of them a massive bear hug, Steve doing the same.

“Long time no see, boys,” Natasha said with a grin, returning both of their hugs with slightly less force, mindful of her now significantly bigger and rounder baby bump.

“Wow! There’s...more of you!” Steve said bluntly, gaping at Natasha’s belly as he pulled back from the hug.

Domestic Steve’s lips curled up into an amused smile. “She’s certainly helping things along by eating an entire batch of my cookies every single night.”

Natasha pouted and elbowed her husband. “Hey, I am eating for two here!”

“Not that we’re not pleased to see you both, but what are you doing here? I thought the meeting was going to be at your house?” Tony said, scratching the top of his head.

“It was, yes, but seeing as it’s your one-month anniversary, we wanted to put together something special for the two of you,” Domestic Steve said.

“Special?” Tony and Steve both asked. Domestic Steve looked to his wife, and with her nod of approval, he opened the door, revealing a ballroom full of guests. But not just any guests -- they were the Steve Rogers and Tony Starks of the multiverse, all here for what was probably the biggest monthly Rogers and Stark meeting to date.

Tony’s jaw dropped, and he and Steve slowly entered, his eyes and mind working overtime to take it all in.

Jan was right. He was _definitely_ going to need more than one cheese platter.

There were some familiar faces among the attendees; Perfect Steve and Perfect Tony waved at from across the room as they chatted with an equally perfect-looking Steve and Tony, clad in t-shirts and basketball shorts. Tony assumed them to be the illustrious Earth-20051 fellows that he’d heard so much about, and yeah, they definitely lived up to his very adorable expectations.

Tony also recognized President Cap and Sultry Tony. They were sitting with a sleepy-looking Tony, his mustache so bizarrely curled, and a scruffy-haired Steve dressed in cowboy-like attire. Cowboy Steve was leading the conversation while his Tony dipped in and out of consciousness and making a lot of gestures with his hands as he talked, suggesting that he was speaking of something equestrian-related.

Sultry Tony was listening attentively, nodding, and also looking like he had some serious questions for Cowboy Steve about riding more than just horses. President Cap didn’t seem to mind the implications that his Tony was making with his eyes, but he did still keep one massive and possessive arm around him.

Speaking of massive, there was a seriously _gigantic_ Steve -- he even made President Cap look small -- paired up with a small, sensitive-looking Tony at the center of the room. They were both laughing as they played with these bouncing guinea pig-like creatures who were, strangely enough, dressed like Iron Man and Captain America.

If nothing else, at least the weird rodents had a good sense of fashion.

And finally, in the corner, Tony saw Older Tony, who actually looked considerably better than last they saw him. But that probably had to do with who was at his side: a rugged-looking Steve, significantly younger than him, and distinguishable from the many other Steves in the room thanks to his big beard.

Older Tony perked up when he noticed Tony was looking his way. He walked over, Bearded Steve following closely behind him and gingerly taking his hand.

“Hi, Tony. Steve,” Older Tony greeted with a small smile. “I wanted to apologize for...well, for everything about what happened when you came to my universe. It was rude of me, and you were just trying to help. I just wasn’t ready to hear it, even though I needed to.”

Tony grinned, clapping a hand on Older Tony’s back. “Hey, looks like it got through to you in the end. That’s what matters, right?” He turned to Bearded Steve. “Nice to meet you, by the way.”

“Uh, likewise,” Bearded Steve said, uncomfortably. “Sorry, this is just kind of a lot to take in. And I thought waking up in the twenty-first century was overwhelming.”

Steve and Domestic Steve both chuckled, giving Bearded Steve understanding looks.

Tony scanned the room once more, frowning when he noticed that something -- someone -- was missing.

It didn’t make any sense; how was it that Older Tony and his Steve were able to reconcile, the pair that easily had the most strained and toxic of relations, but they couldn’t?

“Something wrong, Tony? I thought you’d be over the moon about seeing and meeting so many happy Steves and Tonys,” Natasha asked, sounding concerned.

“Oh, no, it’s great. I just--” Tony began, but was cut off by the sound of the door to the ballroom opening once again.

As if on cue, Earth-616 Tony -- or Tired Tony -- stood in the doorway of the ballroom. Only he didn’t look so tired anymore. He was practically glowing, his captivating blue eyes reinvigorated with a newfound sense of purpose, and a real, genuine smile on his face.

Tony’s breath hitched and his chest warmed as he took in the sight. He looked good, real good, but still, Tony couldn’t help but wonder: Where was--

“Sorry we’re late, everyone,” He announced to the busy room. “You wouldn’t believe how bad the interdimensional traffic was on our end!”

 _Our_ end?

He stepped further inside, revealing that he wasn’t alone. At his side was Angry Cap, but just like his Tony, he didn’t fit his nickname anymore. He was elated, wearing a big grin that stretched from cheek to cheek, and had his arm securely around his Tony. Despite the countless other people and distractions around them, he was staring at his Tony with a look of sheer adoration and appreciation, like they were the only people in the room, like he only had eyes for him.

The formerly tired Tony Stark glanced away from his beloved and met Tony’s watchful gaze from across the room. He smiled brightly at him, mouthing two simple words: ‘Thank you’.

Tony smiled back and gave two of his own words in return: ‘You’re welcome’. He looked up at his own Steve, his smiling growing even wider as a strong draped around his waist and brought him close.

Together, they gazed fondly upon the lively room full of the Steves and Tonys of the multiverse. All happy, all united, and most importantly, so very in love, just like them.

Theory confirmed.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a quick list of the other Steves and Tonys that I included in the 'meeting' scene at the end:
> 
> \- Cowboy Steve and his Tony are from the 1872 mini-series comic.  
> \- The "massive Steve" and "sensitive-looking Tony" are from the Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon.  
> \- The guinea pig-like creatures dressed like Cap and Iron Man are, of course, tsum-tsums!
> 
> I honestly wanted to include more Steves and Tonys in this scene (Heroes United, Noir, etc.), but god, it was hard enough to keep track of everyone that I did have! But feel free to envision them as being in the background, or showing up fashionably late to the meeting. 
> 
> After all, there's no such thing as too many Steves and Tonys in the multiverse ; )


End file.
